Inside the Studio of John Casey

Oakland-based artist John Casey invited Hi-Fructose to come check out his studio while he prepares for his solo-show, “Little Exorcisms,” opening up next month at Breeze Block Gallery in Portland. His latest body of work continues to exhibit fictitious human deformities, ones only possible in an alternate world. A place where inner emotions are physically manifested in the human form and one’s psychological state of mind is channeled through morphed figures and evocative imagery.

The result is expressive and multi-faceted. John’s work is energetic in form and textural in pattern. Rendered with a pencil and mechanical eraser (used to make subtractive markings), his little creatures become unbound on paper. Imagery of bursting flowers, all-seeing eyes and gigantic hands are depicted loosely and with feverish detail. His sculptural work echoes the kind of physical madness of his illustrations, being more interactive and tangible than its two-dimensional counterpart. Besides delving into the inner psyche through his art, John is hard at work, showing in multiple exhibitions this past year and, of course, getting ready for his solo show at Breeze Block opening on October 3 in Portland, OR.